Latest News – July 21

Courage Classic Returns to Lake County Saturday

The Denver Children Hospital’s Annual Courage Classic will take place this weekend, with the Saturday, July 23 ride coming through Lake County. This annual benefit ride, now in its 27th year, is held in July to raise funds for The Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colo. The 2-day, 158 mile bicycle tour travels through some of the most scenic mountain passes in the state.

On Saturday, 2,000 Courage Classic cyclists will take on Day One of the 3-Day charity ride. Participants will take the loop from Copper Mountain over Fremont, then towards Tennessee Pass, through Minturn, Vail and back to Copper. Anyone traveling the same route could encounter delays.

And Saturday’s ride should provide some pretty spectacular scenery. Starting at Copper Mountain, the riders will ascend Fremont Pass on Highway 91 and follow the headwaters of the Arkansas River through the valley towards Leadville. From there, cyclists will pick up Highway 24 north towards Ski Cooper and take on Tennessee Pass, making their way down into Camp Hale. The day’s ride continues through Minturn, then completes the loop through Vail returning where they started at Copper Mountain. This is the first day on the 2-day tour and will have racers putting a solid 77 miles in the saddle.

The second day will take riders through Frisco, Silverthorne and Keystone, tallying another 80 miles. The Courage Classic does provide shorter routes for cyclists for each day to accommodate riders of all levels as well as families.

About The Courage Classic

The Courage Classic raises money to support the Children’s Fund for Children’s Hospital Colorado. Children’s Fund gifts allow the hospital to quickly improve the care they offer to every child who walks through our doors. Children’s Colorado served 198,564 patients in 2013, and they expect to see even more infants, kids and teens in the years to come.

US Pro Cycling Challenge a NO-GO This August

As Leadville/Lake County is gearing up for the height of the race season, there will be one less event on the community calendar in 2016: The US Pro Challenge will not be taking place this year, setting their sights instead on 2017. The USA Pro Challenge usually happens in August, passing through Lake County at least once, enforcing road closures for the hundreds of cyclists, crew, and participants.

“The timing and work involved in this endeavor does not allow us to produce the event in 2016 and achieve all the goals of our important stakeholders. Instead, we have targeted 2017 to restart this iconic race. Since the inaugural USA Pro Challenge in 2011, the race has been a great Colorado community asset and has quickly become one of the most exciting races on the global cycling calendar, for fans and competitors.”